The random thoughts & events in the life of an animal-loving, peace-loving vegetarian.
I can't promise to write regularly. And I can't promise that it will be interesting when I do.
I love coming home at the end of the day and going to the side of the house where the "upstairs" cats are waiting for me. Invariably they are in some combination/formation near the stairs awaiting my arrival. At least I like to think they are.
Here's Banu asking me what took me so long.
Like bookends: Layli and Lupe
Again bookends: Lupe and Teddie
Sometimes they're in the middle and I have to navigate an obstacle course between the kitty and the kitty toys.
Sometimes I have to pay toll (petting and kissing) before being allowed to pass.
Sometimes I find Lupe in this strange position. No, she's not in mid-stride; she's laying on the step with her rear end and standing with her front feet.
And sometimes I find her wedged between the bars, looking down on me.
And sometimes Banu knows I'm coming up the stairs but is too tired to get out of bed!
I had to laugh today as I was waiting at the car wash. First let me explain about pollen to those of you who don't live in the South. The pollen down here this time of year coats every surface a pale yellow color. (If you have bad pollen allergies you're doomed!) The photograph is the storm drain at work one day last week after a good rain. The pale powdery stuff you see is the pollen from our cars and asphalt as it's been washed into the pile of leaves near the drain. Well, even though we've been getting rain we're still restricted from washing our cars at home till our lakes and reservoirs fill back up after last year's drought. Instead, we have to take our cars to the car wash where the water is recycled. Today I was waiting behind a guy in a pickup as he got the "super duper fancy pancy la di da with undercoating and spray waxing and drying" special car wash for a billion dollars. His truck looked to be on its last leg, I mean wheel, with rust in all the places where the paint had come off. It made our old cars look like show room cars! But there he was, getting the best wash for his wheels, happily paying for the most expensive option that took a full 15 minutes. Eventually I was able to get in and get my $3.99 econo-wash. The pollen is gone for now. I wonder if the car will be covered with pollen in the morning...
One of my friends in book club is half Lebanese and is married to a Moroccan. She and I share a lot of Middle Eastern interests and enjoy comparing notes on our husbands! At the last meeting she gave me the DVD "Axis of Evil Comedy Tour" to borrow and watch. It's been a long time since I've laughed so hard; I enjoyed it so much.
The tour has been all over the world and some of the cast members change, but the movie includes three Arab comics and one Persian comic. The three Arab guys went first and then Maz Jobrani came on last to give the Persian version. I will put up the first part of his act and when he refers to Ahmed Ahmed he's speaking about one of the earlier comics. If you like it you can link to the other parts of his act. I found out he's actually an actor so you may recognize him from TV shows he's been on. Enjoy!
Today Saeed had to stay home and write a big report, so Shirin and I went shopping for some last minute baby stuff. The last time we were at Target was in September when Shirin had come home for Lisa's wedding and because nobody yet knew she was expecting I couldn't blog about it. These first four pictures are from that shopping trip in September and the last two are from today. Target hasn't changed a bit. Shirin however....
.... has changed a bit. Only three more weeks...
...and she'll be pushing a stroller through Target. Inshallah.
Shirin and Gabriel have made one last trip home before Cyrus is born. Gabriel has a project to complete with Clayton so he and David left to spend the weekend with Clayton in Raleigh. This left Shirin to hang out with the folks. Notice I didn't say old folks!
Usually Shirin sits at the kitchen table and studies, but today she had a harder task: she has to make a decision regarding her choices of senior rotations for calendar dates March 2009 through May 2010 (graduation.) This would also include any desired externships to occur during this time. Whatever schedule she decides has to be turned in by May 9th 2008 and it's basically irrevocable. If I had to do this I wouldn't be smiling; I can't even schedule a flight home till a month or two before I want to go.
I came back 20 minutes later and she was still struggling with it. Deciding exactly what you'll be doing two years from now is some heavy stuff. The smile has turned into serious concentration. The decisions are complicated by the fact that she'll also have a baby's needs to consider. Since he's not even here yet, it's pretty difficult to imagine some of that.
I leave Shirin to see what Saeed is doing. He also is in deep thought as he analyzes a patient's results from the neuropsych testing he did last week. This is just the first step; tomorrow he'll spend many hours writing the report. I'll go back to check on Shirin's progress...
... oh my, it looks like she's about to start praying for a solution to the conundrum.
So what is everybody else doing? Calvin is relaxing on the second level of the cat tree...
... and Obi's looking out the kitchen window as Chappu takes a break from chasing mousies (she's actually got her eye on one that's on the floor.)
Soon Obi has left the window for a nap on the back of the couch...
... and Tippy is doing the same thing on the same couch.
It's obviously naptime. Here's Frosty on the back of the chair.
The day wasn't all work, though. We had a nice meal at Jaipur Indian Restaurant. I felt sort of bad while eating the ghulab jamun. Shirin reminded me that Gabriel loves them. The next time we come to this restaurant we'll need a high chair. It's hard to imagine.
The last time we went to Earth Fare it ended up truly being the "date" I always call our weekly dinner out. We were not aware that there would be live entertainment by which to eat our organic, vegetarian, freshly cooked food.
As you can see from the pleasure on Saeed's face the music was really nice.
Ansel Couch plays music from the 60's and 70's, all pieces you would recognize and be able to sing along with: Jim Croce, Dan Fogelberg, Beatles, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Simon and Garfunkel, and so on. Each song was better than the one before. His voice is excellent, his playing of the acoustic guitar superb, and the harmonica on one song - perfect.
As his ad states, he lives in the upstate of SC and can be hired out for just about any gathering. I feel like we need to throw a party of some sort just so we can hire him and his beautiful music. After we finished eating Saeed came around the table and sat next to me so we could enjoy the concert. With my husband's arm around my shoulders and us slightly swaying to the music it finally felt like a true date!
And no post about dinner can go without the required snap of the food.
I was in my car during my lunch break reading "Half of a Yellow Sun" which is about the Nigerian-Biafran war. The weather was warm, sunny, and breezy, and I was comfortable and full. The book was very good and everyone at book club last night said they'd recommend it to others. As I was reading about the plight of the Igbo people the author did such a good job of pulling me into the story; I felt like I was there. Still, my personal surroundings were peaceful and it totally shocked me when the helicoptor sounds got louder and louder and the deep vibrations shook my body and my car. For a moment I thought the story had become reality and that my life was in danger. Of course within half a second I realized that it was just the Medi-Vac helicopter landing at the hospital next door to carry a critical patient from our local hospital to the trauma unit in Charlotte.
(yes I really did have my camera right there!)
For half a second I felt the fear of bodily harm... but did I really? Does my sheltered self even have a clue? I hope I never find out, but there's not a day that goes by that I don't think of those around the world for whom existence is tenuous and fear is part of the air they breathe.
I did a post on Martin Luther King, Jr. back in August 2007 (click here to see that post) but since today is the 30th anniversary of his assassination I want to share with you a sermon he gave in April of 1967 that is so appropriate for our situation today. Although he's speaking about the Viet Nam war you would think he's talking about the current war in Iraq. * He talks about speaking out against your government although people will call you unpatriotic and a traitor, equating your dissent with disloyalty * about being horrified at violence towards us but committing violence against someone else far away who looks different and not seeing it as violence * about us sending our poor in disproportionately high numbers to go off and fight and die in order to bring other people things that they themselves don't have in their own country * about us being unwilling to give up our privileges and pleasures that come from overseas investments because we are a thing-oriented society instead of a person-oriented society * the Western arrogance of feeling that we have everything to teach others and nothing to learn from them * how we're spending more money on military defense than on social uplift
He says,"Let me say finally that I oppose the war in Vietnam because I love America. I speak out against this war, not in anger, but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart, and, above all, with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as the moral example of the world. I speak out against this war because I am disappointed with America. And there can be no great disappointment where there is not great love. I am disappointed with our failure to deal positively and forthrightly with the triple evils of racism, economic exploitation, and militarism. We are presently moving down a dead-end road that can lead to national disaster. I call on Washington today. I call on every man and woman of good will all over America today. I call on the young men of America who must make a choice today to take a stand on this issue. Tomorrow may be too late. It is time for all people of conscience to call upon America to come back home."
I am one of those lucky women whose husband loves to cook. In fact, I often say that I married Saeed for his cooking! :-) Growing up in a traditional home with a European mother who was an excellent cook, I never thought I'd marry someone who would feed me delicious meals.
This is what I came home to yesterday after work. Not only did Saeed go to the store to buy what he needed, but he also then washed and chopped all the vegetables to make Ghormeh Sabzi. Persian cooking is fairly labor-intensive. I just snapped a few pictures to catch him in action.
Notice the wall-hanging behind him with a recipe for "Gugelhupf," a German buttery cake that was my Dad's favorite and which my mom made for special occasions.
The final product. It's served with saffron rice and is DELICIOUS!
Sorry, I'd write more, but I have to go eat some Ghormeh Sabzi for dinner... it's calling my name.
What a pleasure to come home to this every day.
